Pocket-sized voice recorders are widely used as a convenient way to take notes, store information and create documents in audio form. Among other applications, the recorded information may be transcribed to present the information in written form.
In recent years, compact audio recorders have been proposed in which the audio information is stored as digital data in a solid state memory. In some cases, a removable memory card is used as the storage medium.
Prior art embodiments of compact digital audio recorders have, to date, fallen short in terms of making it convenient for the user to manage the audio files stored in the recording device or removable recording medium. The prior art has also failed to provide for satisfactory integration of portable digital audio recorders with other information management devices, such as personal computers and computer networks. Other subjects not adequately addressed by the prior art are how to conveniently transfer digital audio files from portable recorders to other devices such as PC""s, and how to identify and manage the audio files after transfer from the portable recorder to a PC.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide for convenient management of audio information stored in a portable digital audio recorder or transferred from such a recorder to a personal computer.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of operating a portable digital audio recorder, including the steps of storing a voice data file in a memory device included in the portable digital recorder, the voice data file representing sounds spoken by a user of the recorder, generating data which identifies the user of the recorder, and storing header data in association with the voice data file, the header data including data which identifies the user of the recorder. The data-generating step may include automatically recognizing the user""s voice on the basis of the sounds spoken by the user. Alternatively, the data-generating step may include receiving data signals input into the recorder by the user.
According to other aspects of the invention, the header data stored in association with the voice data file may include data which uniquely identifies the particular recording unit and/or a work location (xe2x80x9coccupational establishmentxe2x80x9d) with which the user of the recorder is associated.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a portable digital audio recorder, including a housing shaped and sized to fit in a user""s hand, a microphone mounted to the housing for generating an analog voice signal which represents sounds spoken by a user of the recorder, circuitry mounted in the housing for converting the analog voice signal into digital voice data, a memory device in the housing for storing the digital voice data in the form of a voice data file, and circuitry for generating data which identifies the user of the recorder, wherein the memory device stores header data in association with the voice data file and the header data includes the data generated by the above-mentioned data generating circuit.
Including author-identifying information in the voice file header data facilitates management of voice data files in a portable recorder that is shared by more than one user. Moreover, the author-identifying data, as well as the data which identifies the particular recording unit, is especially useful in connection with identifying and managing voice data files created in a portable recorder and subsequently transferred to a personal computer or a network of computers. When the author travels from one work location to another, as in the case of a physician who is associated with a number of different hospitals and/or clinics, management of voice data files using the portable recorder is enhanced by including in the header data a field which identifies the particular establishment to which the voice data file is pertinent.
According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of operating a portable digital audio recorder, the recorder including one or more memory devices, and the method including the step of storing header format data in the memory device(s), the header format data representing a plurality of header formats, selecting one of the plurality of header data formats, the method further including the steps of storing a voice data file in the memory device(s), the voice data file representing sounds spoken by a user of the recorder, generating header data in accordance with the selected header data format, and storing the generated header data in the memory device(s) in association with the voice data file. It may be the case that the header format data is stored in an embedded memory device in the recorder, whereas the voice data file and the header data in the selected format are stored in a removable memory device.
The latter aspect of the invention provides to the user the ability to pre-store and then select among a number of header data formats, which enhances flexibility in managing voice data files generated using the recorder.
According to still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of operating a voice data management system, where the system includes a portable digital voice recorder, a personal computer, and circuitry for interfacing the recorder to the personal computer so that data may be exchanged between the recorder and the personal computer, and wherein the method includes the steps of downloading transaction data from the personal computer to the recorder, storing a voice data file in the recorder, the voice data file representing sounds spoken by a user of the recorder, generating header data in the recorder, with the header data including at least some of the downloaded transaction data, storing header data in the recorder in association with the voice data file, and uploading the voice data file and the header data from the recorder to the personal computer.
It is to be understood that xe2x80x9ctransaction dataxe2x80x9d means data relating to a particular incident with respect to which the user of the recorder needs to generate a voice data file. Examples of such incidents are an accident to be investigated by an insurance adjuster who is the user of the portable recorder, or a medical procedure with respect to which a physician who uses the recorder is required to dictate an operative report or a post-op notes.
By downloading specific transaction data from a PC to a recorder, using the transaction data as header data for the voice file generated in the recorder, and then uploading the voice data file and the header data to the PC, it can be assured that the PC, or a data network of which it is a part, properly handles the relevant voice data file.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be become apparent from the subsequent more detailed description of preferred embodiments.